The Rangers reportedly made a competitive bid to land 22-year-old Japanese right-hander Junichi Tazawa but were rejected.
Hideaki Okubo, manager of Tazawa's Nippon Oil team, told the Kyodo News the Rangers made the most attractive financial offer for Tazawa. Tazawa is trying to skip the Japanese major leagues entirely by going from the industrial league to American baseball. He reportedly received offers from the Rangers, Atlanta, Boston and Seattle. He was expected to sign with Boston. The Kyodo News report, citing sources close to Tazawa, indicated Boston is the front-runner for the pitcher, who could make a decision on his future soon. Tazawa's season recently ended.
Rangers general manager Jon Daniels declined to comment on the report.
Scouting reports on Tazawa indicate he has a fastball that ranges anywhere from 87-93 mph and above-average command of breaking pitches.
The Rangers are trying to become a more formidable player in the Asian market. They made a bid for Daisuke Matsuzaka following the 2006 season, signed reliever Kaz Fukumori last year and hired former major league pitcher Jim Colborn to head their Asian scouting. Colborn, who pitched and coached in Japan, has strong relationships there.
The Rangers apparently will not get involved with Japanese free agent right-handers Kenshin Kawakami or Koji Uehara. The Web site NPB Tracker cited a Japanese report that indicated the Rangers "might" be one of up to eight teams interested in Uehara as a swingman or back-of-the-rotation starter. Uehara reportedly wants a job as a starter in the states.
